TEL AVIV - The U.S.-Israel Arrow program passed another milestone Feb. 22 with the spectacular, nighttime, head-on intercept of a sea-based, long-range target off the California coast.
Part of the ongoing, jointly funded Arrow System Improvement Program (ASIP), the test validated new Block 4 versions designed to improve discriminating capabilities of the Arrow 2 interceptor, the Green Pine search-and-track radar and the Citron Tree battle management control system.
"To see that explosion off the shores of California was truly gratifying. It was a body-to-body impact that completely destroyed the target," Arieh Herzog, director of the Israel Missile Defense Organization told reporters via teleconference shortly after the nighttime launch at the U.S. Navy's Point Mugu Sea Range.
Herzog said validation of the Block 4 software would provide the Israel Air Force "with a better system than they have now." The software upgrades, he said, improve detection capabilities and lethality needed to defend against "new and different threats."
In a Feb. 22 statement, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency (MDA) noted that the Green Pine radar successfully detected and tracked the target, transferred information to the Citron Tree management control system and launched the Arrow interceptor, "which performed its planned trajectory and destroyed the target missile."
The MDA statement noted that the test "represented a realistic scenario" and involved operationally ready elements of the Arrow weapon system.
The joint U.S.-Israel Arrow Weapon System successfully intercepted a ballistic target missile on Feb. 22. (U.S. Defense Department)
"To see that explosion off the shores of California was truly gratifying. It was a body-to-body impact that completely destroyed the target," Arieh Herzog, director of the Israel Missile Defense Organization told reporters via teleconference shortly after the nighttime launch at the U.S. Navy's Point Mugu Sea Range.
Herzog said validation of the Block 4 software would provide the Israel Air Force "with a better system than they have now." The software upgrades, he said, improve detection capabilities and lethality needed to defend against "new and different threats."
In a Feb. 22 statement, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency (MDA) noted that the Green Pine radar successfully detected and tracked the target, transferred information to the Citron Tree management control system and launched the Arrow interceptor, "which performed its planned trajectory and destroyed the target missile."
The MDA statement noted that the test "represented a realistic scenario" and involved operationally ready elements of the Arrow weapon system.
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